“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” - 1 John 2:1
Friend, are you tired of sin’s grip on your life? Do you feel burdened down with the heavy weight of your sin and shame? Does sin have you tightly bound with its pleasure-wrapped and irresistible temptations?
Maybe you struggle with lust, and dirty thoughts which leave you feeling dirty and defiled. Maybe there is someone in your life that you hate because of some past wrong they have done to you. Maybe you struggle with addictions such as drunkenness, drugs or pornography. Or just the party life with all the wickedness and sexual immorality that goes on in such places.
All these things and more that I didn’t even mention can make us as humans feel weak, powerless, and trapped.
We try in vain to do better, only to fall back again into our sins. This can leave us very unhappy and unfulfilled in our lives, because we long for something better. Perhaps you’re even despairing of life itself because it feels like something is missing in your life. Friend do not despair, there is hope for you! There have been many people at this very point in their own lives, that have found the one and only way out. I would like to briefly share with you the way to overcome the grip of sin in your own life!
First, we must define sin. Sin is simply the transgression of God’s law. Our selfish nature causes us to fall into all kinds of sins because we normally do what feels good to us in the moment without caring about how our sinful actions will negatively impact those around us. You may ask yourself, “Why do we have this selfish nature which makes it so easy to sin?” “And why does God allow it if he hates sin?”
We must go back to the beginning of the world to answer these questions and then we can see what God has put in place to help us in our gigantic life and death struggle with sin. Yes, it is that serious. In fact, the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death’’ and “the soul that sinneth it shall die.’’ That’s talking about eternal death.
So where does sin come from? In the beginning of time God created Adam and Eve as the first man and woman on the earth. He placed them in a beautiful garden which they were to care for. He only told them one thing that they were not allowed to do. He told them they could eat of all the fruit in the garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “For in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Those were His words of warning to them.
All went well until one day Satan came to Eve in the form of a beautiful serpent. He deceived her into eating the forbidden fruit and Adam also ate of it. That was the first sin. And its consequence was that Adam and Eve were put out of the garden, and death and sin began to claim its power over the entire human race. We all are their descendants, and we all have that sin nature as well. That’s why even young children can be so selfish and get upset when they don’t get their way. It’s the nature of man to sin.
God allowed Adam and Eve to have the choice to disobey him, because he wanted them to choose to obey and love Him. If He would force us to obey, we would merely be robots. God desires us to glorify Him, but the choice is up to us!
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Romans 5:12. Adam and Eve died a spiritual death that day they disobeyed God, and later they died physically too. We too have the curse of sin on us and the price for our rebellion against God’s law, is DEATH. Spiritually we are dead and physically we will die. If we can take care of our sin problem before we die, then death is simply the doorway to eternal bliss in heaven forever.
However, if we die in our sins, we will sink lower than the grave, even unto the pits of hell. Hell is where all that die in their sins will be. But even worse is that on judgement day, death and hell and all those in their power will be cast into a burning lake of fire forever. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Revelation 21:8. There will be no escape. There will be no second chance. Indeed, the wages of sin is death. If we want to escape this eternal death, we must quit living in sin. How can we do this?
In the old covenant, God instituted a way for man to receive forgiveness for their sins by sacrificing a perfect animal. The bible says, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." Hebrews 9:22. So for many years the Jews sacrificed animals for forgiveness of their sins. The problem, however, is that their sins never went away. They couldn’t stop sinning. And sacrificing for the same sins year after year was not what God wanted. But God had a plan. He had the perfect sacrifice in mind. The sacrifice to end all sacrifices.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Yes, He sent his son, Jesus, to walk this sin cursed earth in the flesh as a man for 33 years. He was tempted in all points even as we are, yet He did not sin. In His last 3 years, He healed the sick, gave eyesight to the blind, and raised the dead to life. The whole time preaching “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The religious leaders hated Him because they felt threatened by Him, so they had Him condemned to death. This was prophesied several hundred years before Jesus’s birth in Isaiah 53:3. It says, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:” And verse 5 says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
” So as God’s perfect plan, Jesus was crucified on the cross, and in extreme pain, He shed his precious, holy blood to forgive us for our sins. It takes a perfect sacrifice to take away sin and Jesus was perfect. 1 Peter 1:19 “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” As the perfect sacrifice, He only had to shed His blood once for all mankind and for all time. 3 days after He died, He rose from the dead, therefore defeating our two greatest enemies: SIN and DEATH.
Jesus now sits at God’s right hand interceding for you and me, even as a lawyer would intercede for his client before the judge. Jesus is the only way to receive forgiveness for our sins and to have eternal life. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6.
Now we know where sin came from and we understand that our nature is incredibly selfish, and it is capable of committing any kind of sin and debauchery that humanity can come up with. But how do we escape this human nature that holds us tightly in its grip? How do we practically apply the blood of Jesus to our sinful lives to receive forgiveness and cleansing? How can we receive the assurance of salvation and eternal life offered to us by our loving Heavenly Father?
First, we must believe that Jesus died for my sin, and that his blood can cleanse me and make me pure within. We must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that this same resurrection power can give us new life as well.
Romans 10: 9-11 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.’’ Then we must confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us and to give us His spirit to help us to overcome them. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. If you are sincere in desiring a new life, God will hear, and he will forgive you!
Now you must go on in the newness of life. Do not go back to your old ways of sin. It takes daily prayer and reading God’s word to help us to overcome the temptations that Satan tries to lure us with.
A very important part of Christian living is belonging to a church that loves Jesus and obeys all of His Word. This will help you tremendously in your Christian Walk, indeed you probably will not endure without it. The scripture says, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Revelation 3:5. This is Jesus’s promise to us. If we are to make it to Heaven, we must overcome our selfish nature of sin and instead serve the Lord in obedience.
Friend I would love to meet you in Heaven someday, I encourage you to embrace the teachings of Jesus and live in true freedom. May God bless you as you seek him!
For your questions or spiritual needs, call 833-81-TRUTH.
